Woman found guilty of false rape report

Tidewater Review

A King William woman plead no contest to a charge of knowingly giving a false report of a crime to law enforcement and a charge of willfully making a false statement or representation to a law enforcement investigator, both misdemeanors, Sept. 21.

A King William woman plead no contest to a charge of knowingly giving a false report of a crime to law enforcement and a charge of willfully making a false statement or representation to a law enforcement investigator, both misdemeanors, Sept. 21. (Tidewater Review)

Review staff

A King William woman was found guilty of giving a false rape report in King William General District Court.

Sandra Harris, 44, plead no contest to a charge of knowingly giving a false report of a crime to law enforcement and a charge of willfully making a false statement or representation to a law enforcement investigator, both misdemeanors, according to a King William Commonwealth’s Attorney news release.

The court sentenced Harris to 24 months in jail, with four days active jail time, as well as 150 hours of community service, according to the release.

Harris reported she was raped by an unknown person at her home March 10, 2016. She was interviewed by investigators and helped create a sketch of the person she identified as the rapist.

King William Sheriff’s Office conducted an investigation into the allegations, which included interviews of witnesses and a suspect and DNA testing. At the investigation’s end, it was determined the allegations were false. Harris was charged with the misdemeanors and found guilty Sept. 21, according to the release, which was released Monday.

“My office and law enforcement in King William take any allegation of sexual assault very seriously. We work hard to support victims and bring perpetrators to justice. When people such as Ms. Harris take negative advantage of our work, it serves to hurt the next victim of these crimes,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Matthew Kite said in the release.